HYDERABAD: Microfinance industry registered 38 per cent growth for the quarter ended March 2019 with a total loan portfolio at Rs 1.8 lakh crore. According to data released by trade body Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), the total number of microfinance accounts stood at 9.33 crore, registering a growth of 22 per cent during the fourth quarter of FY19.
In line with the trend, NBFC-MFIs hold the largest share of portfolio in micro-credit with total loan outstanding of Rs 68,868 crore, which is 37 per cent of the total micro-credit universe. Aggregated gross loan portfolio stood at Rs 68,207 crore, registering a growth of 47 per cent over the previous year.
“In 2018-19, microfinance in India showed rapid growth, regionally-balanced growth and resilient growth. Apart from the growth in loan size and loan accounts, the growth of the staff of NBFC-MFIs was also heartening at 34 per cent,” said Harsh Shrivastava, CEO, MFIN. NBFC-MFIs, which account for over 37 per cent market share, now employ over one lakh. Banks cater to about 33 per cent, following by small finance banks at 18.5 per cent, NBFCs and non-profit MFIs at 11 and 1.1 per cent market share respectively.
During FY19, NBFC-MFIs received Rs 35,759 crore in debt-funding from banks and other financial institutions, translating to a growth of 63 per cent over FY18, while total equity grew 42 per cent to Rs 14,206 crore. In terms of regional distribution, east and northeast accounts for 38 per cent of the total NBFC-MFI portfolio, followed by south at 24 per cent, and north and west at 14 and 15 per cent respectively. Central India accounts for over 9 per cent.
As of March 2019, banks had a microfinance portfolio of Rs 61,046 crore, recording a growth of 36 per cent over the last year, while small finance banks too clocked a growth of about 25 per cnet. NBFCs witnessed the highest growth at about 59 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Asset Liability Management analysis shows that all sizes of NBFC-MFIs are well placed in terms of ALM across various buckets. Borrowings of MFIs are of long-term, while assets are of short-term and as a result, they have a comfortable gap as on March 2019 to manage their obligations for the upcoming quarter and up to the next 12 months.